Don't expect Google's wireless phone service to have a major impact just yet

Google will
likely announce its wireless phone service in the US on
Wednesday. But don’t expect it to have a major impact just yet.

According to
The Wall Street Journal, Google will leverage Sprint and
T-Mobile’s wireless networks and offer bandwidth under a new
pricing scheme where customers only have to pay for the data they
use. It’s also expected to let people make calls using WiFi
networks.

But, like other Google
projects, it’s a bold plan that will start out
small.

At first, Google’s Nexus 6 is expected to be the only
smartphone that works with the service. And Android lead
Sundar Pichai basically said as much back in February at Mobile
World Congress, where he called it a small-scale test project
that’s “Google’s way of helping drive new technologies forward,”
according to
Android Police.

And there’s still a lot we don’t know: We don’t know if this
service is Android-only, or if iOS and Windows Phone users will
get support, and when. We don’t know anything about coverage
areas or pricing.

But here’s what matters: The name “Google” already means a lot to
consumers. Among other things, it means consumer-friendliness,
and disruption. And that’s exactly what this service is all
about.

Like Google Fiber, this wireless service will likely be a
small-scale rollout that forces other wireless carriers down the
rabbit hole, compromising their own strategies in order to play
catch-up. Google is borrowing a page from T-Mobile in this way,
since it too has forced the hands of the other carriers despite
technically being less popular in terms of number of subscribers.

If Google’s new service proves popular, we might see Verizon and
AT&T change their strategies, since both companies currently
charge fixed rates for data no matter how much people actually
use. But even if it’s a small and rarely used service, increased
competition in the telecommunications space is terrific for all
consumers, no matter how you look at it.